The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
DX Bulletin No. 1042
BID: $OPDX.1042
December 26, 2011
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio)
Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters Network, K1XN & GoList, NC1L, NJ1Q & ARRL DX, NG3K & ADXO, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, KH6BZF, W7KFI, K8GI, K8YSE, W8GEX (60m News), K9CS, K9EL, AT International, DK8JB & The DX News Letter, DL1SBF, DxCoffee.com, DX-World.Net, F5NQL, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, G3XTT, GM4FDM, I1JQJ/IK1ADH & 425 DX News, IK7JWX, OE1WHC, ON5NT, OZ6OM & 50 MHz DX News, RSGB IOTA Web Site, VA3RJ & ICPO, VHF-DX-Portal (MMMonVHF) and VK0TH for the following DX information.
SPECIAL NOTE FROM EDITOR (Tedd, KB8NW)
My family (wife/OPDX's chief
proof-reader Linda, son Teddy [TJ] and his wife Jessi, daughter Katie and
her husband Kevin and son Lliam) and I (KB8NW) would like to wish all
DXers, Contesters and OPDX readers a very "Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas
and Season's Greetings". Thanks to the many individuals who sent holiday
wishes to my family and me.
73 and Have a Great Holiday de Tedd KB8NW
DXCC COUNTRY/ENTITY REPORT
According to the AR-Cluster Network for the
week of Saturday, 17th-December, through Saturday, 24th-December there
were 218 countries active. Countries available: 3A, 3B8, 3D2, 3DA, 3V, 3W,
4J, 4L, 4O, 4S, 4X, 5B, 5H, 5N, 5R, 5V, 5X, 5Z, 6W, 6Y, 7Q, 7X, 8P, 8Q,
8R, 9A, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M2, 9M6, 9Q, 9V, 9Y, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A9,
AP, BV, BY, C3, C6, C9, CE, CE9, CM, CN, CP, CT, CT3, CU, CX, CY0, D2, DL,
DU, E4 E5/s, E7, EA, EA6, EA8, EA9, EI, EK, EL, ER, ES, ET, EU, EX, EY,
EZ, F, FG, FK, FM, FO, FR, FS, G, GD, GI, GM, GU, GW, HA, HB, HB0, HC, HH,
HI, HK, HL, HP, HR, HS, HV, HZ, I, IS, J2, J3, J6, JA, JD/o, JT, JX, JY,
K, KG4, KH0, KH2, KH6, KL, KP2, KP4, LA, LU, LX, LY, LZ, OA, OD, OE, OH,
OK, OM, ON, OX, OY, OZ, P2, P4, PA, PJ2, PJ4, PJ7, PY, PY0F, PZ, R1FJ, S5,
S7, SM, SP, ST, SU, SV, SV/a, SV5, SV9, T32, T7, T8, TA, TF, TG, TI, TJ,
TK, TL, TN, TR, TT, TU, TY, TZ, UA, UA2, UA9, UK, UN, UR, V3, V4, V5, V6,
V7, V8, VE, VK, VK0M, VP2V, VP8, VP8/h, VP9, VQ9, VR, VU, XE, XU, XW, YA,
YB, YI, YL, YN, YO, YS, YU, YV, Z2, Z3, ZA, ZB, ZC4, ZD7, ZF, ZK2, ZL,
ZP, ZS
* PLEASE NOTE: The report "could" contain "Pirate/SLIM" operations or more likely a "BUSTED CALLSIGN". As always, you never know - "Work First Worry Later" (WFWL).
2011 CQ DX MARATHON (Only a few days left!)
John, K9EL, DX Marathon
Administrator, reminds OPDX readers: "The 2011 DX Marathon sponsored
by CQ Magazine ends December 31st, so only a few days left to add to
your total! Logs are due no later than January 31, 2012. See the DX
Marathon Website for details
4T100, PERU (Special Event)
Members of the Radio Club Peruano (OA4O)
are now active as 4T100MP through December 31st. Activity is to celebrate
the 100th anniversary of the fascinating and mysterious pre-Columbian Inca
lost city of Machu Picchu. QSL via OA4O, direct or by the Bureau.
60 METERS NEWS
The ARRL is requesting input for a proposed 60-meter
band plan. Read the posting at:
8P, BARBADOS
Operators Larry/K3VX, Bill/W3WH and Carl/K9CS will be
active from Barbados as 8P9VX, 8P9WH, and 8P9CS, respectively, between
February 14-22th, 2012. Their activity will include the ARRL CW DX Contest
(February 18-19th) as a Multi-Op signing 8P5Y. QSL all callsigns via K9CS.
8Q, MALDIVES
Berti, HB9SLO, will be active as 8Q7LO from the Maldives
(AS-013) between December 27th and January 2nd, 2012. Activity will be
holiday style on the HF bands. QSL via his home callsign.
AFRICAN TOUR
Sadao "Dan", JA1PBV, who is on a African tour for about
a month, is now active as 9G5SI from Accra, Ghana. Activity has been
mostly on 40 and 20 meters CW, but he also does operate on SSB and the
Digital modes. He is expected to leave on December 26th. Dan is expected
to go to Togo (5V) next between December 26th and January 2nd, and then
on to Benin (TY) between January 2-9th. He will try to operate from both
places, but has not been issued callsigns yet. QSL via JA1PBV.
AFRICAN TOUR
Luc, F5RAV, who is expected to be active as UT/F5RAV from
Kiev (between December 27th and January 3rd, will once again head south
to Africa and be active as 6V7T from 6W7RV's QTH in Somone, Senegal,
between February 24th and March 7th, 2012. During his stay, Luc plans to
be in the REF and ARRL contests. After his operation in Senegal, look for
him to be active as C56/F5RAV (along with Francisco, EA1BT) from Banjul,
The Gambia, between February 27th and March 2, 2012. Activity from both
locations should be on SSB and PSK. QSL via his home callsign.
CT9, MADERIA
Mathieu, MJ0ASP, will be active as CT9/MJ0ASP from Madeira
between December 28th and January 7th, 2012. Activity will be on 40-10
meters CW only. QSL via LoTW or via his home callsign.
CY0, SABLE ISLAND (Everything is still a go!)
The latest update, dated
December 22nd, states (edited): "Murray/WA4DAN and Ron/AA4VK are making
final preparations for the upcoming CY0 DXpedition that starts next week.
An FT-897D was purchased this week to serve as a backup rig to the two
IC-756 PRO III primary stations. Antennas include Butternut HF2V and HF9V
verticals, monoband Gap antennas for 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters, a Yagi
for 10M and various dipole antennas. Tokyo Hi-Power solid state amplifiers
will provide some boost for our signals.
We are scheduled to arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the morning of Dec 27th. We will confirm all of our equipment made it safely and shop for last minute supplies. After an early wake-up on Dec 28th, we will arrive at Maritime Air and eagerly await for the OIC on Sable and Maritime Air to make the final GO/NO GO call on the weather and landing conditions. Landing on Sable is a little tricky, since landing is on a 'beach runway'. The sand must be relatively firm and free of standing water. Wind speed and wind direction are also critical parameters to the GO/NO GO decision. Winds from the South tend to bring water onto the 'beach runway'." Suggested Frequencies are:
BAND CW SSB
------ ---------------------- ------------------
160m 1.826 up (down for JA) 1.870 up
80m 3.523 (up or down)
75m 3.781 up (and JA window)
40m 7.023 up and down 7.135 up or down
30m 10.106 up
20m 14.023 up 14.170 up
14.190 (alternate 1)
14.240 (alternate 2)
17m 18.072 up 18.145 up
15m 21.023 up 21.295 up
12m 24.892 up 24.945 up
10m 28.023 up 28.450 up
28.650 or 28.750, if 2nd
station on 10M CW
6m 50.090 up 50.125 (listening freq.)
Keep a check on this Web site for more updates as they get closer to departure:
DX SURVEY RESULTS (DX Magazine's 2011 Most Wanted Countries Survey)
DX Magazine's has published their Most Wanted Countries. Here are the
"Top 20" (in the Mixed modes) as per DX Magazine (Jan./Feb. issue):
2011 2010 2011 2010 Rank Prefix Country Rank Rank Prefix Country Rank ---- ------ ------------ ---- ---- ------ ----------------- ---- 1 P5 North Korea 1 11 VK0/M Macquarie Island 13 2 KP1 Navassa Island 2 12 HK0/M Malpelo 12 3 3Y/B Bouvet 3 13 FT5T Tromelin Island 15 4 VK0/H Heard Island 5 14 SV/A Mount Athos 14 5 7O Yemen 4 15 ZL9 Auckland/Campbell 16 6 FT5Z Amsterdam 6 16 PY0S St. Peter and Paul 18 7 FT5/W Crozet 9 17 KH5 Palmyra 19 8 BS7H Scarborough 10 18 KH5K Kingman Reef 17 9 VP8/S South Sandwich 8 19 KH9 Wake Island 22 10 ZS8 Marion Island 7 20 FR/JE Juan de Nova/Europa 20Look for the "Top 100" to be posted around January 15th, on the DX Publishing, Inc. Web site at:
DXCC NEWS
Bill Moore, NC1L, ARRL Awards Branch Manager, informs that
the following operations are approved for DXCC credit:
E44PM - Palestine; 2011 Operation; Logs are expected to be uploaded to LoTW soon.FW0/TW0, WALLIS & FUTUNA (Update);5N6/YL2SW - Nigeria; This operation has been on hold pending a review of the status of their location (In accordance with DXCC rule 8 regarding it being "land-based"). After a brief review it was determined that this was, in fact, a land based opera- tion so it is now approved for DXCC credit: If you had credit for this operation rejected in the past, send a note to bmoore@arrl.org to have your record updated. You can see the results when the change has been done to your record by checking your LoTW account or, the DXCC daily numbers. (Due to heavy e-mail, Bill probably will not be able to reply to all requests).
"Exactly one month from now, the FW0R team will start its journey to Wallis and Futuna Islands, with the first stop in Los Angeles for 2 days before taking an airplane to Nadi (Fiji), the closest international airport to Wallis. From there, we will fly to Wallis and expect to start TX around 25th of January 2012. We would like to remind you that the entire trip and stay on the island is paid in full by each of the operators and that any contribution/support will help us to reduce the high logistical costs. We would like to thank all individuals and especially the Foundations and Clubs as well as equip- ment suppliers that already support us. Our PayPal account is:
HK0, MALPELO ISLAND
With the upcoming HK0NA DXpedition to Malpelo Island
in late January and into February, Wolf, OE1WHC, informs OPDX that he has
put together a comprehensive Web page covering all previous operations
from that island on the Vienna based "Documentary Archives Radio Communica-
tions" Web site at (English version):
IOTA NEWS
EU-128. Jan-Henrik, DG8HJ, will once again be active as homecall/p
from Fehmarn Island (EU-128, GIA O-001, WLOTA 0637) between
January 1-8th, 2012. Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL
via his home callsign, by the Bureau or direct.
NA-065. Rick K6VVA will be active as K6VVA/7 from Vashon Island between January 1-3rd, 2012. Activity will be mainly on 40-10 meters CW, depending on the propagation. QSL via N6AWD. For more details and updates, check out Rick's Web site and Twitter pages at:
SA-024/
SA-071. Brazilian IOTA DXpedition. A Brazilian and Itlatian team will
activate both Comprida Island (SA-024) and Peruhibe Island
(SA-071) between January 30th and February 9th. The Italian
operators will sign PY/homecall while the Brazilain operators
sign homecall/p. Operators mentioned are Leopoldo/I8LWL, Paki/
IZ8GDO, Vespe/IW8EZV, Angelo/PY2VA and Toni/PY2YW. QSL via
I8LWL.
J5, GUINEA BISSAU
The Verona Section of A.R.I. (Italian Radioamateurs
Association) is organizing a group of its members called the Verona DX
Team, a DXpedition, with humanitarian and ham-radio purposes, to Guinea-
Bissau (J5), one of the poorest countries in the world. The callsign J52
is a "most wanted", especially on RTTY, CW and the Digital modes and has
never been activated in EME. The expedition will be on the air between
March 24th and April 6th, 2012. The team will operate from Cumura.
Operators mentioned are Lucio/I3LDP (Team Leader), Walter/I3VJW, Tony/
IK3ESB, Silverio/IK3IUL, Libero/IK3RBE, Enzo/IK3VVD, Milena/IK3VZJ,
Livio/IZ3BUR and Llario/IZ3STA. QSL Manager is I3LDP. For more info,
visit the J52 Web site at:
KH3, JOHNSTON ATOLL (Update/Clearing the Confusion)
Susan, W7KFI,
informs OPDX that she will be operating from the pier that extends over
the land and the ARRL has OKed this. She states, "Sorry for the confusion.
I have a pop tent and will set it up at the end of the pier, over land,
then the verticals will go on each side with grounds extending into the
water....should result in some good signals...I hope. In any event,
being on a 'pier' over land has already been done by DXpeditions and
ARRL has approved."
LAST MINUTE UPDATE: The DX-World.net is reporting that Susan's QSL Manager, Stan, KH6CG, spoke with Susan and confirms rumors that her KH3-Midway planned operation has been postponed for 4-6 weeks. He states, "This is primarily due to USF&W (Fish & Wildlife) requiring that Susan pulls her boat out of the water and has the hull scraped, then repainted. Permission [to land] would then be granted. The shipyard who would do this work cannot get Susan an appointment until approx four weeks from now, so shove off date will be beginning February at earliest. Susan reaffirms she will definitely be going, and KH3 will happen, but now no firm date for the moment. Her permission to operate is through February. It's worth noting USF&W would prefer Susan to have the hull scraped and push off date within two weeks from now, however as already mentioned the shipyard cannot do the required work until four weeks time."
KH6BZF PROPAGATION FORECAST/REPORT (December 26th-January 1st)
Dec/26th AN Dec/29th AN-HN Dec/31st AN-HN
Dec/27th AN-HN Dec/30th AN-HN Jan/01st AN
Dec/28th AN-HN
SOLAR REFERENCE KEYS/INDEXES AND GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE
======================================================
NORMALITY GEOMAG K Values Alpha
----------------- ------ -------- ------
AN - Above Normal Quiet K=0-1 0-7
HN - High Normal Unsettled K=2 8-15
LN - Low Normal Active K=3 16-29
BN - Below Normal Minor Storm K=4 30-49
DIS - Disturbed Major Storm K=5 50-99
VRY DIS - Very Disturbed Severe Storm K=6-9 100-400
SPECIAL NOTE FROM KH6BZF: ALOHA - The 27.5 solar cycle should reach a
peak on/about January 4-5th, 2012, with a not so high value of SFI
index perhaps between 120-130 levels.! Not a 190 units as we all
hope, but one can never tell what "Olde Sol" is going to give us!
It beats a lump of coal in your stocking!
QSL INFO AND NEWS
T32C LOTW. Don, G3XTT, states, "I can confirm that the whole T32C log
was uploaded as several large files on the same day but, as expected,
LoTW seems to have a degree of indigestion where large logs are concerned.
John, G3WGV, will put out a status report when the number of QSOs
swallowed by LoTW bears a passing resemblance to the number he thinks
he's uploaded! (one of the files went missing completely - John has had
quite a bit of 'to and fro'ing' with the LoTW software gurus! A Merry
Christmas to all."
CHANGE OF ADDRESS. Ghis, ON5NT, reports: "Due to a reorganization of the post office boxes at my post office my 'POBox 93' is no longer valid.. The number of boxes has been decreased to 48, so no more 93. As per now, my new address is: Ghis Penny, P.O.Box 6, BE-9700 Oudenaarde, Belgium. If you have recently sent mail to POBox 93, not to worry, mail still arriving for my old p.o.box number will be dropped in my new post office box."
QSL Manager Tom, GM4FDM, reports that the first batch of direct cards for 7G7GM were posted the evening of December 18th.
Fred, IK7JWX, reports that he has responded to all requests for all of his 2011 activations (IR7ITA, IP7W, IO7DAI, 5C2J February, Djerba Island TS8P AF-083, Feb. 5C2J. 2011, Herne Island AF-068, WFF CNFF-007) via the Bureau. Every direct QSL is answered right away and Bureau QSLs will be answered about 6 months after.
U.S. POSTAGE GOING UP: The following are highlights of the new single
piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective January 22, 2012 :
Letters (1 oz.) - .01 cent increase to .45 cents
Letters additional ounces - unchanged at .20 cents
Postcards - .03 cent increase to .32 cents
Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.) - .05 cent increase to .85 cents
Letters to other international destinations - .07 cent increase to $1.05
Prices also will change for other mailing services, including Standard
Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra Services.
The announcement does not affect Express Mail and Priority Mail.
QSL RECEIVED VIA LoTW: C91NW, DS5BRE, E51MAN, E51NOU, G3OAG, IF9ZWA, J39BS, OH1F, S50XX, SM6M, SU9VB, VK4UC, VK7XX, ZK2V and ZS6GRL
QSLS RECEIVED VIA MAIL: 3D2R, 4U1ITU, 4W6R, 5W0OJ, 8P3A, B4S, DL2RM/p, EK6TA, ET3BN, FO/F6CTL, FR/DJ7RJ, K5D, PJ4/JH5GHM, PQ8XB, ST0R and ZB2LGT
QSLS RECEIVED VIA THE BUREAU: 3D20CR and YJ0HA
T8, PALAU
By the time you read this, operators Ryosei/JH0IXE, Hidenari/
JA0FKK and Koji/JL3TOG will be active as T8CW, T88XC and T88KI, respect-
ively, from Palau between now and January 8th, 2012. Activity will be on
160-6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31 and JT65A. QSL T8CW via JH0IXE,
T88XC via JA0FKK and T88KI via JL3TOG.
T8, PALAU
Mike, T88SM, will once again be active from Palau between
January 11-15th, 2012. QSL "ONLY" direct to: Hakata Radio, P.O.Box 232,
Hakata, 812-8799, Japan.
T8, PALAU
Kan, JJ2RCJ/AB2RF, will be active as T88RF from Palau between
April 30th and May 4th, 2012. Activity will be focused on the low bands
and the Digital modes (PSK63/RTTY/Hell). QSL only via JJ2RCJ, by the
Bureau or direct. Also via LoTW.
TN, CONGO
It was announced this past week that a DXpedition to the
Republic of the Congo by five operators signing TN2T using three stations
would take place in 2012. QSL Manager would be M0URX. More details will
be forthcoming soon. Watch the following Web page for updates:
TX6, FRENCH POLYNESIA (Update/IOTA Op)
Before and after their major VP6T
operation, operators Jacques/F6BEE, Nigel/G3TXF, Gilles/VE2TZT, Michel/
FM5CD and Vincent/F4BKV will be active from the following islands (dates
are tentative):
Tahiti Island (OC-046) - As TX6T; January 14-16th and February 8-10thActivity will be active on all HF bands. QSL via G3TXF.
Mangreva Island (OC-063) - As TX6T/p; February 6-7th. However, this short operation from Mangareva will depend on the early arrival of the return boat from Pitcairn.
V3, BELIZE
Jeff, K0UU, will be active as V31SG from St. George's Island
(NA-073) between February 11-20th, 2012. Activity will be on 40-10 meters
CW only. He also plans to participate in ARRL DX CW Contest (February
18-19th). QSL via LoTW or direct.
VK0, MACQUARIE ISLAND
Trevor, VK0TH, continues to be very active on
various bands (40/20/17/15/12/10m) using SSB, HELL, PSK31 and RTTY, during
various times. He informs OPDX: "Working very hard down here to give
operators the chance to get VK0/MM in their logs. We are working on a
6m antenna and are hopeful that we can make a few contacts with this too
before it is time to go home next year (End of April 2012)." QSL via
JE1LET (direct only).
VP9, BERMUDA
Kei, JJ1RJR will be active as VP9/KG2A from Bermuda between
December 26th and January 2nd, 2012. Activity will be on the HF bands
using CW and SSB, and 100w. QSL via KG2A home address only.
VU, ANTARCTICA
By the time you read this, Bhagwati, VU3BPZ (ex-AT10BP),
should be on board the "M/V Ivan Papanin" and leaving Cape Town for about
an 11 day voyage to the new Antarctic research station called Bharati,
located at Larsemann Hills. Bhagwati is expected to set up a HF station
once his wintering tasks are completed. He is also expected to use a
special callsign from the base and stay on the base until March 2013.
QSL via I1HYW. More details will be forthcoming.
ZF, CAYMAN ISLANDS (NA-016)
John, K6AM, will be active as ZF2AM during
the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 18-19th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-
Power entry. QSL via K6AM, direct or by the Bureau or LoTW.
PLEASE NOTICE (as of February 12, 2007), NEW ADDRESS CHANGES FOR THE OPDX INTERNET HELP/SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE REQUEST:
Help: opdx-request@barf80.org Subject:help
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OPDX WORLD-WIDE WEB HOME (provided by John, K8YSE (k8yse@papays.com):
http://www.papays.com/opdx.html
ALSO VISIT THE NORTERN OHIO DX ASSOCIATION'S WEB HOME PAGE:
http://www.papays.com/nodxa.html
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